Amid crime lab scandals, state task force dissolves

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When you’ve got crime lab scandals across the Golden State, with drug analysts pilfering evidence in places such as Ripon and our very own San Francisco Police Department, you’d think a state task force would be formed to help address the problems.

The task force was also meant to help create a state oversight body for forensics instead of a national accrediting agency that is basically a panel of its peers. Public defenders across the state, including Public Defender Jeff Adachi, are complaining about the disintegration, saying it’s like turning off the hose in the middle of the fire.